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Monday, 22 September 2014

And now here we are in the cold light of day suffering from
the post referendum blues, and the news that the vows written on the cover of
the Daily Record have already been shredded is being heard across the land.

There will be a debate, but the majority in Westminster who don’t want to deliver more
devolved powers will kick it into the long grass.

Who would have thought that would have happened?

Sorry.

I mean who didn't see that coming?

Oh wait. Cameron says it’s still on track.

Does anyone want to join me in holding our collective breath
for a positive outcome?

Nope?

No, I didn't think so.

So would it be churlish of me to ask those who voted no as
they believed more powers would be forthcoming how that is currently working
out for them?

Then again some people voted no because they didn't want
anything to change.

Latest news is that Ed Balls has called for child benefit to
be capped if Labour takes Westminster.

It looks likely that the English vote will take us out of Europe when that referendum rolls around.

So over all how is that decision working out for you?

Thankfully pretty much all the parties have said that
austerity measures will remain in place so there’s one thing that isn't
changing.

Hurrah for that then.

There are of course some people who have managed to get what
they wanted.

The politicians for one.

What a no vote did was secure a season ticket on the gravy
train for them.

No wonder Labour and Conservative councillors were slapping
each others backs and cracking open the champers.

Allegedly Jim Murphy broke down in tears of pure
unadulterated joy and screamed “the drinks are on my expense account” to loud
cheers of support from a selection of cross party representatives.

Once the clamour had died down it is said that you could
hear a large sigh of relief from London
based interior designers who make their living from the patronage of Scottish MPs.

Then let’s not forget that the right wing elements got what
they wanted to.

Their beloved Queen and country has been saved for whites of
a certain religious group.

Fandabifuckindozycunts.

That’s a personal favourite of mine.

I just loved watching them celebrate at a war memorial by
rigidly extending their right arms skywards.

Not sure what it was that it reminded me of though.

You would have thought it was a nazi salute, but they were
waving union flags and the location seems to say that couldn't be the case.

I mean war memorial, union flags, Rule Britannia being sung
and Sieg Heiling.

One of those doesn't fit so it must have been something
else.

Hmmm who else got what they wanted?

I'm not really sure.

Did those who wanted to protect their income and employment
get what they wanted?

Only time will tell I suppose, but it’s a harsh fact that if
a business wishes to relocated and bump their employees out of a job then this
country being part of the UK
or not will have no bearing on that.

So maybe we will have to wait a bit and see if they get what
they wanted.

Some probably will, but not all of them.

And now here’s the tricky one.

Did the pensioners get what they wanted?

Security in the years they have left to them?

Once again we will have to wait and see how that works out
to.

I’ll not be betting on them having a better standard of
living or the one they currently have being maintained, but who knows.

In a genetically modified future maybe pigs will also fly.

Off the back of all this there has been some effort made to have
people show a bit of solidarity.

There’s a cry for people to refrain from apportioning blame.

Much of it sounds like people realizing that they made a
mistake and instead of putting their hands up to it they would rather just not
talk about it at all.

I'm not sure if I am entirely comfortable with that.

A portion of my fellow countrymen and women took something
away from me and apparently I am just to let it go, or even work with these
people to secure something that we had the opportunity of already taking for
ourselves.

It’s going to take some time for me to personally get over
this.

I think I will reserve the right to point fingers just now.

I think I will reserve the right to still feel a degree of hurt and anger.

I genuinely don't think anyone has much of a right to put a time scale on my grief or to claim that I am over reacting.

Thursday, 11 September 2014

XXXX - From the outside looking
in the career arc of Bad Touch certainly gives the impression of living the
dream. There’s been many plaudits and a whole bunch of sought after national
supports secured by the band.

Obviously none of that falls into
your lap though.

So what is the secret? Is it
simply a combination of hard work, talent and luck?

BT - Things have been going
really well for the band over the last couple of years and its difficult to put
your finger on why - It's probably a combination of the band constantly
striving to improve and write better songs, playing as many live shows as we
can, sound management and a huge slice of luck - hopefully opportunities will
keep coming and we will make the most of them

XXXX - Is there moments when you
are all on the road that the trials and tribulations of the reality of moving
from city to city, setting up, sound checking, crashing out and then doing it
all again slips into the background and you consider yourself rather blessed to
be doing something that you all so obviously love doing?

BT - Touring is without doubt our
favourite way to gig as we can focus on exactly what we are doing and get into
a good routine - and we want to keep on doing it for years to come.

Obviously as a young band we are
going to cities and venues we have never played before and meeting loads of
great people who support live music - how could anyone not love it.

We have also been really
fortunate to have toured with some great bands and really lovely people - The
Quireboys and Bonafide were just the perfect people to help us through our
first 2 tours - and having met both The Electric Boys and Tyketto in the past
we know that they to are great guys to tour with.

XXXX - In the hardest moments.
The nights when everything goes wrongs - as if we are honest every band has
battled through them - what is it that keeps you going?

BT - There have been nights where
everything that possibly could have gone wrong has gone wrong, and we've
thought we've played really badly because we've been battling with equipment
constantly going wrong.

But then when multiple people
come up to you afterwards and say how much they enjoyed it and that you played
really well despite the problems, it makes none of the problems really matter.
Because we all love playing and writing our own music and people enjoying the
music you've written is what it's all about and the good nights far outweigh
the bad.

XXXX - In every band there is
that one person who is the take charge type. The one who has an OCD approach to
covering everything and the rest turn to and ask anything from “where’s the set
list” to “is there a Mexican vegan restaurant near the venue” and they can
actually answer pretty much anything. In Bad Touch who is that?

BT - We are all a bit OCD but in
different area's. Rob is fussy about the songs themselves, Steve and George
about performing and putting on a good show, Seeks about image and artwork,
Baileys just too laid back - but does have in built satnav to find the nearest
Weatherspoons.- probably the only one with his priorities in the correct order

XXXX - Once this forthcoming tour
with The Electric Boys is put to bed what is the next move for the band? How
far ahead are you forward planning?

BT - Once the tour with the Electric Boys concludes
we will be looking forward to another short UK tour with Tyketto and several
one off gig's and festivals around the country including Hard Rock Hell and
Legends of Rock.

In January we are off the Sweden to record our debut album which we hope
to be ready for release in the early Spring - the plan is then to tour the UK
again to promote the release.

We expect to play several
festivals throughout the summer of 2015 - then perhaps tour again in the autumn
but beyond this we dont have any plans - just hopes.

XXXX - In the time frame of the
band being together you have obviously been gaining an insight into the music
business as you have forged ahead.

What sort of advice would you
offer other bands?

Is there one specific thing they
should avoid, one specific thing they must do?

BT - In the time we have been
together the music business has continued to evolve and has become ever tougher
for young bands to establish themselves and with the fall off in sales of
recorded music there are not many companies willing to take a chance on an
unproven band.

Never-the-less there are still
young bands such as Heavens Basement making progress so its up to us to work as
hard as we can and build up a following around the country and gigging as much
as possible is vital.

Advice to other young bands - Go
and see as many bands as possible and learn from the best.

Avoid - behaving like you are
already rock stars

Must - Write good songs and
practice and gig as much as possible

XXXX - As the gig in Glasgow is following the referendum vote for independence
has it dawned on you all that Bad Touch could unofficially be one of the first
English bands to play in Scotland
as a foreign country (I say unofficially as independence doesn't automatically
follow a yes vote). In a sense you could be forging the way for others to
follow.

BT - We just hope that we won't
be cavity searched at the border.

(XXXX. It’s not going to be compulsory,
but if you want to put some names forward we can see what we can do.)

XXXX - And finally do you have
any messages that you want to pass on to your Scottish fans?

BT - We've only played in Scotland a few
times and every time its always been a great and appreciative crowd, so I'd
just say thanks for your support and for making us feel welcome.

Here are just a few things that I have learnt in the lead up
to the referendum vote.

1) We, the people, have taken our eye off the ball for too
long.

This alienation, and then disengagement from the political
process, has allowed individuals who lack the skills to represent us assume
representational roles.

We have people that couldn't spell integrity making
decisions on our behalf.

Dishonest rogues, liars and charlatans abound.

Yet whose fault is it that these people proliferate among every
political party and hold office in every tier of government?

It’s ours.

The brightest and best were the people who we should have been
supporting.

Instead tribal loyalties got in the way, and if we bothered
to vote we did so for parties rather than the individual.

It’s been said that pin a certain colour of rosette on a
donkey and some will still vote the donkey in, and it’s true.

We should have done better.

2) A wage and an expense account are more important than an
ideology.

Every day we see politicians claim to speak on behalf of the
people, but strip the hollow words away and what we are left with is
protectionist rhetoric.

They want to protect their job, their wealth and their privilege.

They don’t just want to keep their first class ticket for
the gravy train, but they want us to pay for it to.

3) A suit and tie and is a serviceable disguise for an idiot
to pass himself off as a rational human being.

Consider UKIP.

They should be a fringe party with the amount of nonsensical
rubbish they come out with, but put a suit on the village idiot and people
listen to him blather on about floods being Gods judgement on homosexuals and
respond as if it has some sort of relevance instead of laughing it off as the
ravings of a fool.

4) The mainstream media in the UK is beyond being salvaged.

From phone hacking to being the mouthpiece for the political
elite they are failing us on every single level imaginable.

Journalists of the present should hold their heads in shame.

Reportage has become infotainment and z-list celebs are as relevant as a child abuse scandal for the red tops.

How did that happen?

They say the people get the press that they deserve.

Is this our fault to?

5) In the dictionary in Westminster words such as honesty, morals,
fairness, compassion, equality and honour have apparently been redacted.

In fact the dictionary must look like a top secret confidential
report with virtually every page only having a couple of words on show.

Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Scottish hip hop to the outsider may well sound like an oxymoron, but when they shout never the twain shall meet we can quietly laugh at their ignorance as acts like Stanley Odd, Lusty, Loki, The Girobabies and Hector Bizerk rattle out rhymes that would stand triumphant in any rap battle.

When you really listen to them all you can hear the nascent sound of the punk revolution echoing down the years as their take on social commentary covers ground that the mainstream media dare not touch.

here's to them as they set foot on the ground where angels would fear to tread.
They are out there on the fringes breaking ground and all are worthy of our attention and support.